David Zipper Profile picture
Nov 9, 2023 7 tweets 4 min read Read on X
For the first time, the EPA is investigating the environmental harm caused by tires.

The federal government is finally acknowledging that tailpipe emissions are just one of the ways that cars befoul the planet.

Me in @Slate. 🧵 below

slate.com/technology/202…
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The chemical in question, 6PPD, makes tires more durable. It turns into 6PPD-quinone when exposed to air.

In 2020 @UW researchers published a bombshell study blaming 6PPD-quinone for the collapse of coho salmon in the Puget Sound.

washington.edu/news/2020/12/0…
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@UW Scientists have shown that 6PPD-quinone is so toxic that it kills many kinds of fish, including trout and char, even in minuscule freshwater concentrations.

It may harm other creatures too – including humans. We’re still learning. Image
@UW This summer, three Native American tribes that harvest salmon asked the EPA to declare 6PPD a toxic chemical and ban it. Several state attorneys general agreed.

Last week the EPA granted the petition, beginning a formal review.

epa.gov/system/files/d…
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@UW The EPA’s move is a big deal, apparently its first investigation into car pollution that doesn’t come from tailpipes.

Emissions form tires, brakes, and road dust may not worsen climate change, but they jeopardize ecosystems and human health.

penntoday.upenn.edu/news/analyzing…
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In fact, EVs – which have no tailpipe emissions at all – could worsen tire pollution if they're heavier and more powerful than gas models, as seems likely.

I recently wrote about that risk in @TheAtlantic.

theatlantic.com/technology/arc…
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@TheAtlantic Bottom line: It’s good news that the feds are investigating a very toxic tire chemical.

But given the myriad environmental harms attributable to cars – many of which are still little understood – there is a better option: Encourage other ways to travel.

slate.com/technology/202…
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More from @DavidZipper

Oct 2, 2024
The only way to prevent gigantic SUVs & pickups from killing pedestrians is to reduce car bloat.

Technology alone won’t do it – even if automakers claim otherwise.

Me, in @Slate 🧵

slate.com/business/2024/…
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Context: Oversized vehicles are deadly for everyone else on the street – and especially pedestrians.

They convey more force in a crash, take more time to brake, have huge blind spots, and are more likely to strike pedestrians’ head/torso.

slate.com/business/2023/…
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A pile of research links car bloat to the soaring number of US pedestrian deaths, which recently hit a 40-year high.

arstechnica.com/cars/2023/08/h…
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Read 8 tweets
Sep 26, 2024
Odds are good that your favorite European piazza/plaza/place used to be a parking lot.

Great story from @aitorehm with before/after pics:

Here’s Madrid’s Plaza Mayor [cont'd] politico.eu/article/europe…

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Piazza Colonna, Rome
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Praça do Comércio, Lisbon
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Read 4 tweets
Aug 1, 2024
"0-60 time" is a car metric that needs to die.

Even today’s slowest cars are quick enough for normal driving. Blazing-fast acceleration is pointless, and it shreds tires while endangering others on the street.

Me in @FastCompany 🧵

fastcompany.com/91165821/how-f…
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0-60 times emerged in the 1940s, the brainchild of a car dealer and auto journalist named Tom McCahill.

In the 1950s, a now-pitiful 10.5-sec 0-60 time on a sports car was something to boast about. Image
Engines were less powerful in the 1950s and 60s, and 0-60 times provided useful info.

It’s no fun merging into a highway from a dead stop in a car that needs ~30 seconds to hit 60 mph (like a 1960s Volkswagen Beetle). Image
Read 8 tweets
Jul 31, 2024
The biggest source of urban noise? Motor vehicles.

In @CityLab, I wrote about the quiet (and healthy) pleasures of car-free and car-light neighborhoods.

🧵

bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
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There’s an urbanist adage that cities aren’t loud; cars are loud. It’s really true.

~50% of urban noise is attributable to cars.

Everyone pays the price. Example : Researchers found that even mild traffic sounds make food taste worse. Image
More than annoying, car cacophony can damage health, causing high-blood pressure, heart disease, and mental illness.

In Denmark, 11% of all dementia cases were attributable to road noise

theguardian.com/society/2017/j…
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Read 9 tweets
Jul 29, 2024
US transportation agencies keep claiming that expanding highways will reduce climate change.

That's absurd.

In @voxdotcom I explained why. 🧵

vox.com/future-perfect…
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State DOTs (and the feds) regularly argue that adding highway lanes will reduce emissions.

Blue states, red states – they all do it. Example from Caltrans below.

Source: latimes.com/california/sto…
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A root problem: State DOTs use models that assume ongoing future growth in car traffic.

According to their models, only wider highways can keep cars from being mired in gridlock, spewing emissions as they inch forward. (Transit? Density? Not relevant, sorry.) Image
Read 4 tweets
Apr 28, 2024
Oversized SUVs and trucks worsen a slew of societal problems, including crash deaths, climate change, and tire pollution.

But rather than restrain car bloat, federal policy has actively encouraged it.

In @voxdotcom I explained how. 🧵

vox.com/future-perfect…
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First, a bit of context.

US cars have grown enormous. SUVs and trucks comprise 80%+ of new vehicles, up from ~25% in the 1970s.

SUVs and trucks steadily gain pounds and inches as models are refreshed.

jalopnik.com/trucks-and-suv…
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Car bloat -- the needless expansion of vehicles -- is a societal disaster (see the 🧵 below).

Problems include:
🔹 More road deaths
🔹 Increased air/tire pollution
🔹 Faster road wear
🔹 Pricier cars

Read 14 tweets

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